Explanations
It had been several minutes since Twilight had left the library, and not a single pony had uttered a word during her absence. Instead, their attention was laser-focused on their prisoner. The lone Changeling, currently tied to a chair, blinked every once in a while, but otherwise said or did nothing while he was being held here. As for the rest, most of them were too worried to blink, just in case this guy transformed into something to try to get away. As the heaviest hitters of the group, Rainbow and Applejack were closest, with Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie just a step or two further back. Minute after minute passed, and eventually the silence grew just too boring for the party-lover among them. "Sooooooo...you like cake? Because we've got plenty left over from the wedd...um...never-mind," Pinkie hurriedly stopped, not wanting to bring up the recent disaster.
Rainbow, while keeping her eyes firmly on the Changeling, nevertheless frowned to her friend's words. "No fraternising with the enemy!"
Pinkie gave a salute. "Roger, wilko, ten-four, good Charlie!"
A look of incredulity came to the hopeful one-day Wonderbolt. "...What?"
Then, before anypony could say anything else, the door of the library opened, and Twilight returned, along with Spike, who had gone out with her. After closing the door behind them, they sighed, with Twilight shaking her head. "Looks like he's the only one. I performed my identification spell all over the immediate area, and there's nothing."
Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew! That's good to hear.
A quick chuckle from Applejack. "Y'all were pretty silly comin' here all by yer lonesome, fella," she remarked.
The drone was not worried. "I knew you wouldn't do anything too terrible to me if I did not approach as an enemy."
Rarity looked to him with disdain. "You have a lot of nerve claiming to not be an enemy after the terrible mess you and your people did back at Canterlot."
Their captive nodded. "I know. But I meant what I said. My allegiance lies with Twilight Sparkle now, not with Chrysalis."
Stepping forward, Twilight's eyes narrowed. "And why would that be exactly?"
The Changeling looked her right in the eye. "Well, first and foremost...there is no Chrysalis anymore."
Silence fell, and all the ponies and Spike seemed utterly stunned to have heard that. Then, after a long time of just thinking that declaration over, Twilight again stepped forward. "Wha...what you mean?"
Even through his bonds, he was capable of shrugging. "Exactly what I said. Chrysalis, the former Queen of my hive...is no more."
In spite of how much enmity there was between Twilight and the leader of the Changelings, even she could not help but feel a pang of horror at what she'd learned. "You mean...she's dead?!"
A solemn nod from the drone, prompting further confusion from the rest of the ponies. "But...Shining and Cadance's love magic wouldn't have been enough to actually...finish her, would it?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight shook her head. "No, that magic could only have forced them out of the city. Nothing more."
When all of them turned to the drone for clarification, he gave a serious nod. "You are correct. The magic alone was not enough to end her life. But it was the catalyst for it." He glanced to the side, a look on his face that clearly suggested that he was recalling recent memories. "Her defeat in Canterlot was a humiliation. She had every advantage in her favor, yet she still managed to lose. And that created...problems for her." He looked back to his captors. "Changeling law is clear. When a Queen fails as enormously as Chrysalis did, then they are deemed unfit to rule their hive. So, my brethren and I did what needed to be done. We left her."
Applejack stepped forward. "Wait, y'all jus'...up an' walked off?"
The drone sighed. "We attempted to. But as you probably know by now, Chrysalis is not willing to relinquish that which she deems hers."
Twilight grimaced. "Preaching to the choir on that one."
After giving her another nod, the drone continued. "She attacked, no doubt to reassert her authority. But by that point our minds had been made up. Instead of submission...we turned on her. All of us. After that..." He fell silent, not finishing his words, though the look he bore gave no illusions as to how things might have gone down during that apparent schism among the Changelings.
Twilight, for her part, had a lot to think about, her voice displaying obvious relief at having learned what she'd learned "Chrysalis is...gone?"
The drone gave a bow of his head. "I too am glad she has passed. Her reign was troublesome, to say the least."
Realising instantly how she must have come across, Twilight shook her head frantically. "No! I'm...I'm not happy she's gone!"
To that, the drone looked confused. "She was an enemy to you, your family and your people. She personally harmed you and attempted to divide you from your closest associates. Why would you not rejoice at this news?"
Rainbow chuckled. "Gotta hand it to him, Twilight. Guy's got a point." Seeing the looks she now got, Rainbow grunted. "Ugh! What? I can't even be happy about that now?!"
Twilight sighed, then looked to the drone again. "I won't lie. The thought of Chrysalis no longer being there to threaten my family is a relief. But I would have hoped for a more peaceful resolution to our differences."
The drone stared at her. "You would have been disappointed."
His words had been stern and to-the-point, and while Twilight would never approve of a callous attitude such as this, she nevertheless remained confused and curious about a great many things, which she was sure to voice. "So...am I to assume there is now an entire army of leaderless Changelings just wandering the wilds beyond Equestria?"
Her prisoner shook his head. "No. With our own Queen gone, Changelings would seek out others to lead them. Doubtless my kin have dispersed, going to one hive or another."
The looks on the faces of all the assembled Equestrians was one of utter horror, and soon it was Twilight that gave voice to their shared fears. "Other...hives? With other Queens too?"
The drone nodded. "Correct."
Rainbow slapped her own forehead. "Agh! You mean to tell me we're gonna have to deal with a whole load of different Changeling armies?!"
In response, the captive shook his head again. "Unlikely. Chrysalis was the only Queen who has ever chosen to attack Equestria." He turned to the side, thinking on his words. "And given how much of a failure that attempt was, it's even less likely that others will take similar actions."
That, if only a little, seemed to calm the situation, though it still gave Twilight a fair bit to consider. "Other hives...and other Queens." She tapped her chin with her hoof a couple of times. "So those who remained from your hive have gone off to find a home in others." She looked to him inquisitively. "But...if that's the case, then why didn't you follow that example? Why come here instead of one of the other hives?"
That question prompted all of the mares to look to him, apparently sharing in her curiosity. But the drone, for his part, considered the matter fairly simple. "Is it not obvious? I came here to pledge my allegiance to you, because you were the superior leader." Seeing the confusion he now got, the drone elaborated. "You were the one who saw through our former Queen's ruse. You attempted to undermine her plan, and in the end it was your involvement that led to her downfall."
Twilight frowned. "It was my brother and Cadance who drove the Changelings out of Canterlot, not me."
The drone nodded. "Perhaps, but had it not been for you, that might never have come to pass. You vanquished Chrysalis. You bested her. And the ancient laws of my people are clear. When one Queen is felled by another, that victorious Queen shall claim her forces. Others of my hive might not take the old ways seriously, but I assure you, I do."
Here, Twilight actually seemed amused by what she'd just heard. "Um...it might have slipped your notice, but I'm not a Queen. And I'm no Changeling."
The drone studied her, much like he himself had been watched closely by the ponies. "Are you not a leader among your people? A figure of great power who has rallied others behind her and led them to great victory?"
Twilight paused, a blush coming to her as she nervously scratched the back of her head. "Um...well..."
Her hesitation was apparently all the confirmation needed, as the drone gave a bow of his head. "By the old ways, I pledge myself to you, Queen Twilight. I shall serve you and this place you call your hive. My life, my service, my soul, are yours to command."
After a long and uncertain silence, the quiet was broken by a chuckle from Rainbow. "Hehe...nice."
Twilight looked to her prisoner for a long time and then, after giving a silent nod to her friends, turned. The other mares followed her, leaving Spike to keep an eye on the Changeling. Once she was far enough away, Twilight spoke, albeit in a hushed tone to keep their visitor from overhearing. " So...what do you think?"
Fluttershy briefly glanced to the drone before looking back to her. "He sounds genuine. I don't think he's lying."
"Same ere, Twi," Applejack agreed. "A've got a feel fer liars, an' ah ain't gettin that feelin' from this ere fella."
Rarity nodded. "Quite. Though we should probably remember that he is technically an enemy of Equestria. Other ponies aren't likely to forget what he and the other Changelings did at the wedding." She gave Twilight a look of concern. "Least of all the Princesses or your brother."
Twilight grimaced at the memory, but it was Rainbow who spoke next. "Hey, if he gives us trouble, we'll give him some trouble!" She pounded one forehoof against the other, making clear her meaning.
But Twilight shook her head. "We've got an enemy, it's true. But if he's being honest about his intentions, then he's basically surrendered to us. There are rules when it comes to prisoners. We shouldn't mistreat him, even if he did take part in the attack against Canterlot."
Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "So...what? You're not actually thinking of buying what he's selling?" A smirk slowly developed on her face. "Unless you like the idea of being a Queen to a Changeling?"
Twilight frowned to her. "I'm not saying that, Rainbow. But we can at least keep an eye on him for now."
Pinkie giggled. "Oh! Maybe we can hide him in your closet and go on adventures with him while trying to keep him secret from your family?"
Twilight stared at her. "...No. I'll be sending a letter to the Princesses to inform them of the situation."
Pinkie's ears drooped. "Aw nuts!"
Thinking over everything that had been discussed, Twilight sighed, then turned to face the Changeling fully, as did everypony else. Spike had kept his vigil, never once even blinking while he watched the drone, even though this had the consequence of giving him rather bloodshot eyes at the moment, much to Twilight's concern. "Er...you can blink now, Spike."
Doing so, Spike sighed with joy. "Thank you!"
Resuming her earlier sternness, Twilight stepped forward. "You will stay here for now, under heavy watch. Our leaders will be informed of your arrival. After that...we'll decide what to do with you later."
The drone bowed his head. "If those are the terms of my service to you, then I accept."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "You're gonna be like this all the time, aren't you, Mr...?" Then she paused, looking to the drone with curiosity. "Wait, what's your name?"
The drone looked like he'd have saluted if he could. "T-H-R-X-86, Ma'am!"
Twilight blinked. "Um, pardon?"
Her prisoner shrugged. "It's the only name I was ever given."
Twilight returned to her earlier frown. "Well...how about..." Her face lit up slightly. "How about 'Thorax' then?"
The drone considered that, then gave a dutiful nod. "Very well, my Queen. I am...Thorax."
Just so I can make this clear, because I know a lot of people will be wondering, no this isn't the Thorax of the official series. Back when I originally wrote this story I chose Thorax as an appropriately bug-sounding name. But, as you can imagine, it was quite a "huh, that's neat" moment for me when FiM actually decided to introduce a Changeling character with that name 
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I'm so Alternate Thorax...
What a coincidence that you chose that before the show ever gave the name Thorax But this is a pretty interesting story so far I wonder how they will handle this
a thorax that acts like an actual subserviant drone? nice...
Can't wait to see what happens next.
"I am a librarian!!!"
"But didn't Princess Celestia dub us the Knights of Harmony before we went to help Cadance?"
"Ugh...Fluttershy..."
-------
Seriously, though, I wonder why Thorax isn't going into toxic shock, considering all the hate that's brewing around him.
Wrong genre, Pinkie
Future king of the lovebugs
I’m looking forward to the many inevitable problems that will arise when he tries to carry out her will.
Ah, but this isn't Thorax, this is Thorax 86, Thorax already having been taken several times.
Ha, just like FN-2187.
Love your take on this alternate Thorax, should make for quite the tale from here on out.
Also seems Chrissy bit off more than she could chew after her defeat, what goes around comes around I guess!
Well, that was disappointing. I was able to push through the incessant mechanical problems, but then you leaned hard into McCarthy's Twilight the mary sue bullshit with the conversation laying all the credit at her feet so I'm out.
2013
I liked the old head canon where changelings had serial numbers. Glad to see it return.
So that's how the story is going to be like, eh?
10316518
there is a story by Doctor Atlas called Do You? where Pinkie has some special changeling . . .
diabetes cute
Well, I ain't using it!
You know, that actually doesn't surprise me that much? When you really think about it, "Thorax" is a fairly obvious name for a changeling, given MLP naming conventions.
Wow. I was wondering if it would be Thorax, nice to know that it is. Good job.
Ehh... This fic could work. Twilight and all the others are well-handled thus far, but I feel Thorax's dialogue is a bit too....erudite and dramatic for him. Unless, of course, this is simply how you wish to portray Thorax. I'll keep watching this fic. It's got potential.
Overall, thus far, 6/10.
Oh Pinkie. 😆
Should be 'fraternizing'
I like the twist, if you'd like to to that far in describing it. That said, I feel like going with his brother would have been a more interesting development. I'm trying to keep this intentionally vague to prevent spoilers.
HEY! No clairvoyance allowed! No spoilers either! You do not know of what you speak! Do you want to split the fanbase, unnamed changeling? Because this unspeakable event managed that!
Why is anyone shocked by this? One hive cannot be the entire species. Even Chrysalis wasn't that stupid. Inbreeding would be indemic, and more than likely, the hive would've died off long before the wedding.
So yes. There was always more than one hive on Equus. We just never saw the rest of them.
"The only Queen who was ever chosen to attack Equestria."
The only Queen . . . was ever chosen to attack Equestria?
Chosen by who?
CHOSEN BY WHO?????????
The other Queens will propably curse Chrysalis forever, since collecting love will be much harder from now one.
Twilight should be happy he isn't the only one who got that idea.
Otherwise she would be very stressed in the forseeable future.
Stop acting so meta-! Do you want to bring Discord back? Because that’s how you bring Discord back!
This is a fun story so far.
Hey, that's my line!
10315711
Before the show? What do you mean? This story was released this month, or am I missing something?
10321171
I think you might want to re-read that, it says "who HAS EVER chosen", not "who WAS ever chosen"
10321106
I mean Yakyakistan exists and does fine for itself. Plus the Changeling hive appears to have a lot of folks in it, quite a bit more than Yakyakistan, so I don't think inbreeding is that much of a threat.
Also the cannon world does appear to have nations tied to the species rather than territory. That is untill the tail end of the show.
10316596
I'll check it out.
Thank you for the recommendation!
Well, that was quite an irony for you, want it?